A model walks the catwalk at the Mid Valley Go Green fashion show in Malaysia last spring. (SooHK in Lens/Flickr.com)

When it comes down to it, the main difference between ethical style and conventional fashion is a little thought and attention paid to the rippling effect of the industry. It takes extra consideration on both ends — from farmers studying how to grow cotton in a way that limits that amount of pesticides and chemical fertilizers that are introduced into the soil and water, to consumers making careful shopping purchases that reflect their ethical ideals.

In between the production and consumption ends of the spectrum is the realm of design. The new green movement seems to be emphasizing style and wearability, which is an encouraging sign for the green renaissance’s longevity.

Success in integrating the two ideals — ethics and style — is understandably the most tricky part of it. Fashion designers have to be extraordinarily talented and creative to make it in the first place, as they must always keep a finger on the pulse of the collective consciousness and provide fashion lovers something new to love every season. However, ethical fashion designers have to take that creativity and build on it with a more holistic approach to design and production values, which on the surface seems like it might be limiting.

Yet not every eco-designer is hamstrung by these limitations; on the contrary, the challenge seems to inspire them. 

Scandinavian designer Fin uses not just organic cotton but baby alpaca wool and what the company calls “wild non-violent silk,” which is developed from the raw cocoons that silk moths leave behind after they hatch. And while that in itself is noteworthy, it’s Fin’s stylish designs that have captured our attention (as well as that of high-profile fans Keira Knightley and Kate Bosworth).

British designer Isobel Davies of Izzy Lane took her sourcing a whole step further — she rescues the literal black sheep from Wensleydale and Shetland flocks and brings them in her Sheep Sanctuary in North Yorkshire, England. According to her website, among the inhabitants are sheep who are rejected by other farms for “being male, missing a pregnancy, being a little lame, being too small, being too old or having imperfections such as a black spot in a white fleece.” She also cultivates Scottish cashmere goats and produces a high-quality line of knitwear, skirts, and dresses. For her good deeds, this year she won the RSPCA Good Business Award for most animal-friendly small business.

Mark Liu, a London designer who has worked in the past with Alexander McQueen, is pioneering a method of design that cuts back on the amount of fabric wasted. Recognizing how much textile waste is generated in the design process, he developed a jigsaw-type method of cutting fabric to limit the amount of scrap produced. He debuted his Zero Waste collection at London Fashion Week in 2007 and his most recent collection, themed “Rogue Agent,” continues to use his innovative cutting techniques that he claims reduces waste and lowers manufacturing costs by 15 percent.

Not everyone can make a body-conscious dress or a flattering pair of pants, and fewer still can make them using the resources in the ethical designer’s toolbox. But the kind of innovative spirit displayed by these and other eco-fashion success stories clearly has played the chief role in their flawless integration of conscience with style. Fashion has always been chock-full of creative personalities, so in 2009 we hope more and more sartorial visionaries follow their lead and come up with new ways to do what they’ve always done: make fashionable clothes.